Can Exxon Mobil Keep Its Momentum?

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) shares hit a 15-month high late last week as investors responded to the company’s deal with Rosneft and an economy that has shown signs of improvement in recent months, including lower unemployment numbers, Value Walk reports.

Year over year, Exxon’s stock has gained 16 percent, although analysts at The Street expect the oil major to report declining earnings in 2014. Though company posted declining earnings and revenue this year, it still managed to outperform the industry average of 5.7 percent with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a number that is lower than the industry average.

But Exxon’s joint venture with Russian oil and gas giant Rosneft is the main source of investor excitement. The two companies are set to partner up to launch a pilot program to drill horizontal wells and revive older wells in Western Siberia.

“Maximizing production efficiency at every field and exploring new technologies to exploit the potential of tight reservoirs is a strategic priority for Rosneft,” Igor Sechin, president and chairman of Rosneft’s management board, said in a press release. “I am certain that our experience and infrastructure in Western Siberia, coupled with the state-of-the-art technologies of our partner ExxonMobil, will allow us to begin developing large tight oil reserves.”